Ferrari ENZO Research

The Car Connection Ferrari ENZO Overview

Introduced in 2002, the Ferrari Enzo is a two-seat, V-12 supercar named for the company's founder, Enzo Ferrari. Built with F1-derived technology and dramatic styling, the Enzo remains one of the quintessential icons of modern supercar design and performance.

The design itself is anything but classical, and not immediately evident as Ferrari's typical work, either. Just as high-tech materials dominate the Enzo's construction, high-tech aerodynamics dictate much of the shape. The Enzo is long, low, and covered in vents and scoops, the better to feed its need for cooling air. Its mid-engine layout gives it a cab-forward stance, and a long front overhang mimics the front wing proportions of a true Formula 1 race car.

A 6.0-liter V-12 engine powers the Ferrari Enzo, generating 651 horsepower and propelling the car to a top speed of more than 220 mph. Acceleration is equally breathtaking: the 0-60-mph sprint requires just over three seconds.

The Enzo's massive performance capability comes at a price, however: gas mileage is exceptionally poor, even by supercar standards. EPA-rated fuel economy sits at just 7 mpg city and 12 mpg highway for a combined rating of 8 mpg.

Built to commemorate Ferrari's first Formula 1 world championship of the 21st Century, the Enzo received much in the way of F1 technology, and was the pinnacle of automotive advancement at the time. An electro-hydraulic automated manual transmission, carbon-composite brake discs, a carbon fiber body, center-locking wheels, and push-rod suspension all helped the Enzo to achieve its performance goals. Some technology in the Enzo even went beyond the rules and regulations of F1, including traction control and active aerodynamics. Only 399 Enzos were built.

Priced at more than $650,000 upon its debut, the Enzo was an ultra-exclusive model, with all of the initial production run sold before construction even began. Nevertheless, Ferrari's client base was so fond of the car that an extremely hardcore, race-tuned version of the Enzo, the FXX, was built and sold to a handful of buyers. Maserati, a corporate relative to Ferrari, also sold a modified version of the Enzo called the MC12. The Maserati MC12 received a slightly different body, but was also slightly slower to keep the Enzo at the top of the heap. Only 50 MC12s were built.

A pair of one-off concept cars were also built with the Enzo as their basis, including the Ferrari P4/5 by Pininfarina and the Maserati Birdcage 75th. The P4/5 by Pininfarina was a special project backed by American film maker and Ferrari collector James Glickenhaus; the Birdcage 75th was also designed by Pininfarina as a concept car to celebrate the design house's 75th anniversary.